


Sweet child o' mine

by NatalieRyan



Series: George Eads Appreciation Week 2021 fics by Natalie Ryan [2]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: 1x01 alternative, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Boze learns the truth pretty early on, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jack Dalton is Riley's dad, Nothing explicit, The Author Regrets Nothing, Thornton is a good person, Traitor Nikki, and Mac's as well, post lake Como alternative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29812890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatalieRyan/pseuds/NatalieRyan
Summary: This was not how Riley was supposed to meet Mac...
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016) & Riley Davis, Riley Davis & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Series: George Eads Appreciation Week 2021 fics by Natalie Ryan [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189895
Comments: 17
Kudos: 29





	Sweet child o' mine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [N1ghtshade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/N1ghtshade/gifts).



> Just another surprise fic that happened at the last possible moment... here we go.  
> Before I venture further in my notes, I'm gonna warn a little bit more about the tag "implied/referenced child abuse". While I don't expand on that, or even describe it explicitly, it is referenced that Elwood hits her and her mom. There's also a referenced moment where Elwood beats on Diane. It's just mentioned, so it shouldn't be much of an interference if you wanna read the fic, but if you are squicked or triggered, I suggest you skip it. I'll highlight the part with bold letters.  
> Now on to how this fic came to life...  
> I thinks it's safe to say that when Thistle and I start talking about something that's bothering us, things like more AUs piling up happen. This is the result of a late night talk we had few days ago, and she mentioned the possibility of Riley deleting the existence of her and her mom with the help of her hacking abilities, and Jack being the only one who knew about it... and I filled in the blanks and added some of my own bits to that new headcanon she came up with. I asked if I could write something with it and she said year. I always wanted to write a tag to lake Como... and voila, this happened.  
> This fic is from Riley's POV, but has plenty of family moments, so I'm posting it for GEAW day 3: family or relationships.  
> I'm very happy with how this came out and I'm proud of what thistle's brain and mine can come up with.  
> Title from GNR - Sweet child o' mine.  
> Enjoy the family feels.

Riley woke up to the persistent ringing of her phone. She was having a very nice dream, drinking mai-tai's, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and now she was brought back to reality by the shrill tone of her phone. 

Just what was she thinking when she set an AC/DC song as her ringtone? It was Jack's fault, really, he got her hooked to classical rock when he helped her set up camp in Nevada when she needed an out and her mom too. 

She was still half-asleep, but whoever was calling was someone who had her number. When she saw it was indeed Jack who was calling, she picked up without even thinking about what the reason might be. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey, Ri." 

The alarm bells in Riley's head started ringing when she heard Jack's voice. Something bad must have happened. She knew him for a long while now and was able to tell what Jack was feeling at any given time. And now he sounded choked up and on the verge of panic. 

She kicked the comforter down the bed and reached for the bedside lamp, grabbing her rig next.

"Jack?" 

There was only ragged breathing on the other end of the phone and Riley was officially worried. Opening her laptop, she fired up her locator to Jack's phone. She did most of his security remotely when he wasn't able to visit so she could do it in person. 

When the app was done tracking it and the blinking dot showed that Jack's phone was currently in Milan, Italy, her brain was officially going into overdrive. 

"What are you doing in Italy?" 

"Mac…"

Riley put two and two together and her best bet was that Mac got hurt somehow on an op. 

"You were on an op?" 

"Yeah." Jack's voice shook on the single word. 

"How bad?" 

"Very bad." 

"Okay. What do you need?" 

"I… shit, it's late there, isn't it? I'm sorry baby girl, I can call again-" 

"Don't you dare hang up now!" Riley may have raised her voice a bit, but Jack obviously called her for a reason. 

"We were betrayed and got into a trap. I'm not allowed to tell you more without my boss' clearance, but I need you to go through some computers. I'll settle things with her. Just… how fast can you get a flight to Milan?" 

"I'm looking at the flights now, hang tight." 

"Thanks, Riley." 

"Don't mention it." 

…

Riley hacked into the airline company's records to see which traveler she could move so she could get herself a ticket. That done, she had a flight booked for 8am, with just enough time to tell Ryan that she had to go for a little while. She already had a bag packed. Living under the radar for so many years had ingrained it in her to be ready at all times to run if she need be. She was used to it, and that didn't scare her much. 

She walked to Ryan's store (front for the security business he was running behind it). No one was around, so she took the liberty to unlock the door and get inside. She might as well wait for Ryan, she knew he was an even earlier riser than Jack. 

Ryan Thorpe was one of Jack's old Delta buddies who lost the use of his legs in a mission neither man wanted to talk about. Jack hooked Riley up with him when she was still a teenager. Ryan running a cyber security firm with a front masked in as a computer repairing store, he was in need of talented people who knew their way around. Diane was against that at first, but seeing what her daughter already did with deleting them from existence, she gave the green light. 

So here she was, almost 10 years later, still working for Ryan, getting paid for the job she liked to do, and having access to all the means she needed to function normally in the cyber world. Technically, you could call her a hacker. Ryan called her a cyber consultant. 

Ryan wasn't surprised to see Riley in the office so early. And when she told him Jack was asking for help on something, Ryan knew that something was really wrong if Jack called her. It paid off to have the blessing from her boss and not to worry when she might be back. 

With that settled, she was off to the airport. 

…

On the plane, Riley had some time to kill until they were in Milan so she went through some of her programs and wrote some codes, before she opened the folder containing all the pictures and things she got from Jack over the years. She kept the originals in a box under her bed back home, but scanned them for easier access. Sometimes when she was having a particularly bad day or just nostalgic, she would look at those and it'd lift her mood instantly. 

The story started with twelve years old Riley meeting Jack Dalton who swore that he was a bathroom tiles salesman, but Riley being who she was, she saw right through it. As time went by, she realized that Jack was hanging around to get more information on Elwood and his operations. Riley was aware of all of the shady businesses Elwood had a hand on, and one day she approached Jack with a proposition. 

She could tell that Jack was surprised, he probably didn't take into account that Elwood's kid would turn against him. But after she took a gamble and told Jack what exactly Elwood did to her and her mom, she knew she did the right thing to approach Jack. 

Jack agreed to help her and her mom to disappear in turn for information. 

If things were different, Riley might have felt bad for ratting her father out to a CIA agent. B **ut as things were, he was coming home more and more drunk and was violent towards them**. It was good to have someone else on her side, someone who stuck around. 

Jack was there for her 13th birthday, as well as the 14th, because the mission stretched out. Riley appreciated Jack sticking around and with the exception of several times when he was called on other missions, he was always there. 

**And then one night all things went to hell and beyond. Someone told Elwood that there was an agent investigating him and he came to the house, pissed off and drunk off his ass. It was possibly the worst memory in Riley's mind, she was so scared, for her and for her mom. By the time her fingers stopped shaking enough so she could call Jack, Elwood already beat her mom up, thinking it was her that was working with that agent.**

It was as far from the truth as it could be. Jack did flirt with her mom several times, but he never made any advances, and despite their situation, he didn't take advantage of her to lure her into another relationship. It was just good hearted friends flirting with each other and that was what sold Riley on Jack being an honest man. 

Riley felt guilty that her mom got hurt for something she did, for working with Jack to take her father down. But it was not a time to dwell on it. 

With practiced ease for something she was waiting for years now, she packed the most essential things for her and her mom, and looking at her belongings and what she chose to take with her; it was bittersweet how little there was.

By the time Jack arrived with his team and LAPD in tow to arrest Elwood, Riley was ready to hightail it out of there. 

Jack took them to a safe location where he gave them their new documents. While Diane was napping, Jack and Riley were both sitting on the table, inhaling Chinese, while Riley was working on deleting every online presence of hers and her mom's. Jack promised to take care of the paper trail.  _ After tonight, they go separate ways and never mention this. _ She was Riley Gibson now, and her mom was Diana. They decided on keeping to themselves as much as possible, but word play on Diane's name plus a different last name was what they thought would be for the best. 

…

Once they were settled in Nevada, in a town close to the border with California, with access to all things they needed, Jack had to leave for a while, but then one day he came around and stayed for a few months. It was nice having him around to help with things, and just hang around. It was right when Jack reached out to his Delta friend and how Riley found herself with a job at sixteen and working on getting herself through high school. 

Jack came to visit on and off till about 2011 when he went back to the Army. And there he met Mac. 

Riley looked at all the postcards and letters Jack sent to her over the years. Telling her about his "adventures" since he couldn't tell her many details (they both pretended she couldn't find out if she wanted to), and after he met Mac, there were many pictures of them both sent together with the letters and postcards. Seeing Jack happy was making her happy and meeting Mac through Jack, she came to like the blond boy who looked too young to fight a war that was doing nobody a favor. 

Riley was pilfering through memories, and suddenly the plane was touching down at the Milan airport. She closed her secured folder and powered down the laptop. It was time. 

…

Once at the hospital, Jack waited for her outside with a tall, slim woman with dark hair in a bun. She assumed that the woman was Jack's boss. She approached them with trepidation, not sure what to expect. Jack looked older than what she remembered with more grey in his hair and beard, with bags under his eyes. The woman had a cold stare, but Riley could see a hint of worry and the need for answers underneath all that. 

Jack reached for her first, and she was there to return his hug. He felt warm and solid under her touch and so familiar Riley couldn't help, but inhaled deeply. She missed the solid comfort that Jack offered. The woman extended her hand and Riley shook it. 

"Good to meet you Ms. Gibson. My name is Patricia Thornton and Dalton has told me that you might be the only one that could help us trying to find the answers we need." 

"As long as whatever you need from me has something to do with computers, I will try my best." 

"There's a few things we need to discuss first. Lay the ground rules so to say." 

Riley nodded. 

"I've had the hospital administration clear us a room where we can talk. Let's get on with it." 

Thornton led the way to the room and Riley found herself wrapped in a side hug as she and Jack walked together behind Thornton. 

…

Once in the room, Thornton explained to Riley how things stood. Riley didn't tell her she already knew DXS was not a think tank behind the curtain, but she couldn't risk implying that Jack was giving information to civilians. 

(Although he didn't tell her, she hacked his record). 

After Riley agreed to sign an NDA and swear that she won't disclose any of the intel she'll find, Thornton told her the reason why they needed help and why Riley had to go through the nine circles of hell talking with Thornton. 

One of their tech analysts had crossed them over, working for both sides. They walked into an ambush on their way back from the mission where Nikki, the analyst, was waiting with Kendrick, the guy she made plans with, for Mac and Jack to return to their rendezvous point, and when Mac refused to give them the virus, Kendrick shot him and Mac ended up in the water. They incapacitated Jack beforehand, via a third man hiding in the darkness of the hidden road they used as a meeting spot, and Riley could see the guilt in Jack when she looked at him. Jack looked like he felt he was the one to blame for what happened to Mac and Riley planned on talking with him about it after they were done with the briefing. 

"Because of the sensitivity of the intel that's on the Agent Carpenter's servers and hard drives," Jack growled at the title "agent" and Thornton cleared her throat before continuing, " _ on Nikki's servers and hard drives _ , we had a team move them back to our headquarters in Los Angeles for safekeeping until someone was able to crack the encryption." 

"Let me guess, no one was able to do it." 

"Nope. It's been almost a month since the incident happened, and we can't waste anymore time than we absolutely have to. That's when Jack had the idea to call you." 

"Okay. When do I start?" 

"Well, the jet will be here tomorrow in the afternoon, so as soon as we are in LA." 

Riley nodded. Shaking hands again, Thornton left her and Jack alone. 

"I have a feeling that this is not just a one time thing." 

"It's possible that you are right. I would love nothing more to have you close again, but that's up to Patty." 

"Can you walk me through what happened?" 

Jack sighed and got up from the chair where he was sitting in.

"I'll tell you everything. I want you to meet someone first." 

They walked through some corridors before Jack opened the door to the room like he was right at home. And when Riley took her surroundings, she could see why. 

On the bed, Mac was lying connected to all kinds of tubes and wires. He looked even paler in person than he did in the pictures, and she was even more convinced that he was too young for whatever it is that he and Jack did. Which apparently was being spies. 

Jack took his seat next to the bed, taking Mac's right hand in his, and she was reminded when he did that for her so many times. Another realization hit Riley as she gave a name to what she was feeling for so long now. She considered Jack her father, and seeing Jack regaling Mac with such care and gentleness, she knew Jack felt the same for her. He probably adopted her in his head and heart the moment she faced him in that cafe as a twelve years old little girl. 

"This is not the way I had in mind for you two to meet. He asked me if we could visit you this summer. We were going to take Bozer with us as well." 

Riley recognized the name as Mac's childhood best friend. 

"Instead I came to visit you." Riley tried for levity, but knew it fell flat. 

"Yeah… Listen, Riley, I'm sorry that you have to go back to LA. I know that I promised you that life was behind you, but I had to call you." 

Riley understood the desperation in Jack's voice and the worry, as well as the urgency. 

"You helped me with far more than I could have asked for. It's time for me to help you. It's okay, Jack." 

"I'm sorry." 

"Don't worry about it. Besides, it'd be my pleasure to find that bitch. Anyone who tries to cross my family will get it." 

Jack looked up with such a wounded look in his eyes and he wasn't even hiding the tears in his eyes. 

"Ri…" 

"It's the truth, Jack. I'll do everything in my power to help you. How is he?"

"He is in a medically induced coma. It was a touch and go for a while. The bullet tore through muscle and ended up in his lung. They had to put him in the coma until the lung healed enough for him to breathe on his own. He died on me when I pulled him out of the water." 

Jack turned back to Mac and reached to tuck a stray hair behind Mac's ear. 

"He is coming around. We are still not out of the woods, but we are getting there. He is a fighter."

"I'm sure he is. I'd like to meet him properly after he wakes up." 

"Yeah. Maybe we'll get our wishes come true, just in a different way." 

"Does Bozer know about Mac?" 

"Yeah, but he doesn't know what it was. He's visited twice on his weekends off the job, but he can't stay away for longer." 

"And how are you?" 

Riley could tell that Jack didn't want to speak up, and she suspected it was because of the guilt.

"I'm fine." 

"Try again. I may be not a spy like you, but I know when you are not fine." 

"When did you become so perceptive?" 

"When someone taught me how to watch for possible threats in "Pizza Paradise"?" 

"I thought you weren't paying attention."

"I can multitask, Jack." 

"You are amazing, sweetheart. C'mere." 

He was on his feet and held his arms open. Riley went to his embrace again. It had been so long since she saw him last and she was going to use up every last moment she got with him before going back to LA. She felt secretly pleased that Jack told Mac about her as well as he told her about Mac. And that Mac wanted to meet her.

"I'm sorry this happened, Jack." 

"Yeah, me too. But we are going to be okay now." 

"Of course. We are known to bounce back." 

Jack still held her in his embrace when he turned towards the bed, looking at me. 

"Damn right we are. Thank you, darlin'." 

"Of course." 

…

Two days later, Riley was still going through Nikki's files, trying to find how the contact with Kendrick was made, and where they could be hiding as well as what their plans might be, when her phone chimed with a message. 

It was Jack telling her that Mac was awake. She was happy for them, and that renewed her motivation to dig deeper. 

Soon enough, she had a viable lead and shared it with Thornton and she immediately sent a team to take Kendrick into custody. Nikki was nowhere to be found. 

The deeper Riley dug in the files, the more disturbed she was by the discoveries she made. As it turned out, Nikki wasn't the only mole inside DXS. There were several other people working under Oversight's orders against the agency's interests. Once the identity was revealed to be the one of Jonah Walsh, and that he had set Thornton as a scapegoat in case something happened to him, efforts were made to cut off the snake's head. 

Riley was glad that she discovered what she did when she did and stopped the disaster that could have been the DXS downfall. 

Several things happened, and if a week ago someone told Riley she'd help unearth such a big conspiracy within the agency she was hired to do some work for, she wouldn't have believed them. 

Thornton called an old friend at the CIA for help and from the name she recognized Matilda Webber as Jack's boss at the CIA, who helped them clean the house. 

The moles were taken into custody, and thanks to a quick action from the TAC team and Thornton herself, they prevented Walsh from fleeing the country. 

Because of the sensitivity of the information and the enormity of what happened with DXS, the CIA temporarily took over. 

Riley was offered an official position as a technical analyst and assigned to Mac and Jack's team and she didn't even think before she accepted. It felt right, and she felt ready to return to LA full time. She wasn't the same Riley who left, and she would have Jack by her side again, plus she looked forward to meeting Mac and Bozer. It was a win-win situation. 

Once things were set in motion, Thornton and Matty decided to use DXS' old cover as a think tank to create a new clandestine agency, currently nameless. They were all given time off until everything was set in motion, and Riley looked forward to visiting Mac and Jack in Italy. Mac was doing better as days went by, but he still had to stay at the hospital in Milan. 

Thornton decided against her better judgment of taking another civilian to their new agency, and looped Bozer in on the secret spy stuff. Riley was present to the conversation, and she could tell that Bozer was more worried than mad. Turned out he was wondering for a while now about Mac's "trips' ' and his injuries. He explained it with his film script writing in his free time. According to Bozer, some of the stories Mac used, it was what he would make up as covers for his characters. And in his opinion, Mac recycled them too often for comfort. Riley could see how impressed Thornton and Matty were from Bozer's perception and his understanding. 

Thornton was also in awe of his face prosthetics, just one more selling point to hire him. 

Bozer accepted before they were done asking. Apparently even if he wasn't sold on the idea of being a secret agent and protecting people, he'd do it to protect Mac. 

Riley and Bozer bonded on the jet, headed to the hospital to see Mac and Jack. They exchanged some information on who they were and on Mac and Jack. It felt surreal to make another friend in such a short period of time, but she counted her blessings. 

…

Once at the hospital she was glad to see Mac awake. He looked healthier, albeit still pale, and he was smiling. 

"Glad to see you awake this time, Mac." 

He looked a bit sheepish. And she noticed the grip with which he shook her hand was strong.

"Glad that I finally met you." 

He looked next to her and saw Bozer. Jack must have seen the same because he gave Riley a sign to go outside and leave them alone. 

It was good to see Jack after almost two months. She could see the change in him. The bags under his eyes were still present, but not so dark as last time. And he looked better. Riley was glad for that. 

When they returned to the room an hour later, they found Bozer and Mac laughing over a childhood memory. 

"Okay, guys, sorry to interrupt this, but we have something to discuss." 

They all looked at the door where Thornton and Matty stood. Jack looked at Matty with surprise but didn't say anything. Mac looked at Jack in return and it was clear that the history between Matty and Jack was known, at least a little, to Mac as well. 

"As you know, we had to officially defunct DXS. We are in the process of starting another secret agency, and we wanted to notify you of the changes." Thornton started the conversation. 

"When director Thornton called me to help her, I didn't hesitate. Turns out, some of the people we arrested have been on our black list for a while now. Thank you for your hard work, and consider this your official welcome to the clandestine world. Since you are a team now. Good to see you, too, Dalton." 

Matty smiled and Jack gaped at her before he closed his mouth audibly. 

"Likewise, Matty."

"Oh, and yes. I am your new director. Patty is going to take the new position of Oversight who will now be a council. She will lead that." 

"I'll still be present, just run things from the backstage." Thornton said. 

"Hoping y'all are ready for some shuffling because things won't be as they were." 

"What about Nikki?" Mac was the first one to ask and Riley felt for him. To be lied to by your own girlfriend and her machinations leading to him getting shot was a bitter pill to swallow. 

"Still working on locating her, Mac. I want you to focus on healing now. We'll take care of her." Thornton assured. 

"You heard the boss, Mac. You just worry about yourself now, okay?" 

Mac looked at Jack defiantly before he nodded. Riley had a feeling that this wasn't the last she'd see of Mac's stubbornness. 

Riley also noticed Mac wearing a necklace of sorts. She knew Jack had the medallion of St. Sebastian, the patron saint of archers. She knew Jack Sr. gave it to Jack. She wondered about Mac.

"Hey, Mac, what's that?" 

Mac looked at where Riley pointed and pulled the necklace out from under his t-shirt. 

"This? It's a Phoenix."

"We got that in Cairo. A token that we survived. Which we are not talking about. Ever." Jack made a point to look at each of them in turn. 

"Yeah, Riley. We don't talk about Cairo." 

Mac looked at the necklace with a solemn look and Riley got an idea. 

"What about 'Phoenix'? Our new name?" 

They all looked at each other and nodded in agreement. 

"What do you say, Mac?" Matty asked him as much as Jack. 

Both partners looked at each other and Mac nodded. 

"Yeah, Phoenix sounds good." 

Riley grinned as they all clinked plastic cups with orange juice in celebration. 

She looked forward to working with this team. They already felt like family. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts?


End file.
